Electric Cars Could Help Cook Dinner During a Blackout

Nissan and Mitsubishi are promoting their electric cars as emergency generators in case of blackouts, working to increase the electric output of the zippy vehicles so that they could power something like a microwave or a rice cooker.

The issue of having backup power has become increasingly relevant for Japan after the spring’s major earthquakes triggered rolling blackouts in Tokyo.

Luckily, the power grid in America has held up against the nation’s air conditioning during this epic heat wave–as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg put it yesterday, “so far, Con Ed has not screwed up”–but the risk of blackouts is still very real. And while the batteries from a Nissan Leaf might not be able to power your window unit, this kind of emergency food assist could become a selling point for the cars.